Italy's MPS says bids for BPM, Banca Generali stand even if Intesa seizes control

By Valentina Za

MILAN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) said on Monday the two buyout offers it has announced in an attempt to thwart a takeover bid by rival Intesa Sanpaolo can't be revoked even if Intesa seizes control of the group.

To fend off a €35 billion ($40 billion) cash-and-stock offer by market leader Intesa, MPS last month unveiled all-share bids for Banco BPM, another second-tier bank, and Banca Generali, a wealth manager.

In a statement issued at the behest of market regulator Consob following a complaint by Intesa, MPS provided additional details about the terms of its two bids.

It said they would be at a discount to market prices if their value was calculated based on the MPS stock price before the boost it got from Intesa's bid.

MPS said the Banco BPM deal would account for €1.4 billion of the overall €1.8 billion in pre-tax benefits it has said it expects from the two transactions.

In particular, a Banco BPM merger could deliver €1 billion in cost savings, while the rest would be additional revenues, it said. The €0.4 billion in projected benefits from a Banca Generali transaction would be equally split between costs and revenues.

MPS also clarified what could happen if Intesa concluded its takeover offer while the other two bids are still ongoing, saying it had not made them conditional on Intesa's takeover failing.

The change of control, were Intesa to succeed, would not by itself halt the bids, which are irrevocable, it said.

Intesa last week got shareholder approval for its takeover project and is awaiting supervisory and antitrust clearance before it can start the tender phase.

It expects to conclude the bid by December 31, it said when it announced it.

That may be before MPS kicks off the tender phase of its bids, which would make it easier for Intesa to halt them, a person familiar with the process said.

MPS needs to get qualified shareholder approval to proceed with its plan and is holding a vote on October 29.

Like Intesa, it then needs supervisory and antitrust go-aheads before it can ask BPM and Banca Generali shareholders to tender.($1 = 0.8644 euros)

(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Gavin Jones)